Other Tech

Introduction

More techy topics that don't fit in the menu'ed categories.  

Apache

Not sure where else to put how enable directory browsing for Apache 2, so...  Only use this on servers where you can absolutely ensure trusted access.  Meaning, nothing on the internet and even if you don't trust your roommates.

Alias /media/ "/home/userxyz/sharedstuff/"


<Directory /home/userxyz/sharedstuff/>

 Options +Indexes +FollowSymLinks

 AllowOverride all

 Order deny,allow

 Allow from all

 Require all granted

 AddType video/mp4 .m4v

</Directory>

This also assumes that it is world readable for files and world executable for directories.  That last part is important, read up on unix-style permissions.

BASH Cheat Sheet

This page is just embedding https://devhints.io/bash.  ;-)

CDDB is gone

It's been on it's way out for a while.  Some things change slowly; there are still apps that used it.  Below are work arounds for two apps, Asunder and RipperX.

Asunder

RipperX


Windows

I hate to admit that I have a Windows 10 machine.  But alas I do have a laptop and desktop.  I have a rant to post as a blog entry eventually.  But for now, here are some things I want to remember.

Disc Cleanup

On Windows 10 I wanted an easy way to clean up (out?) files and then to optimize for quick file access.  This is supposedly not needed these days for 2 reasons.  First, SSDs do not have rotating discs, so do not need to move the right sector to the reader-arm.  Second, newer versions of NTFS are not supposed to write files contiguously.  Though files that change in size will get fragmented.

An "interesting" tangent, to quote Microsoft's defrag.exe:

File fragments larger than 64MB are not included in the fragmentation statistics.

Go figure.

To do this quickly, mindlessly, and routinely, I needed a batch file or PowerShell script.  The quickest thing was to create a batch file.  First, just once, run cleanmgr.exe /sageset:1 and select all the categories of files you want to remove.  Read Microsoft's cleanmgr documentation thoroughly before setting any values.

Second, put these two lines in a batch file.  Notice that it is "sagerun" instead of "sageset".

cleanmgr.exe /sagerun:1

defrag.exe /c /u /x

The batch file and initial command should be done from an elevated command prompt.  The easiest way to get there is to click on Windows Button, search for "command prompt", right-click and choose "Run as Administrator".  To get more information, click here.

The first time you run this it may take a long time.  If you run it regularly, it should take less time.  Unless you've done a lot of file changes; which includes updates, DLCs, and getting all those vacation pictures off your camera.  I'd also be careful about cleaning up "Windows Update" stuff.  Doing so after an update might be a needless worry.  But Microsoft is known for strange things and you might not be able to uninstall updates.  

Fast Startup:  What is it?  Well, 

turn on fast startup windows 10 - Bing 

How to disable Windows 10 fast startup (and why you'd want to) | Windows Central 

change power and sleep settings in windows 10 - Bing 

Optional Updates: The sad state of the Windows ecosystem is that one doesn't know if they should trust drivers from Microsoft or from the manufacturer of the device (meaning network card, video card, peripheral, etc).  Also, you get a lot of "fly-by-night" manufacturers out there that just throw together their devices & software drivers.  Last but not least, it is almost always better to do updates.  Except for the worst fly-by-night folks, but one learns quickly.

Anyways, and there are exceptions, but I try to always use the drivers coming from Microsoft.  In System Settings -> Windows Update, there is a button for "Optional Updates".  Try each one by itself, and reboot in between each installation.  I know it sounds like a pain, but it is safer.  If something doesn't work, uninstall it and go find the manufacturer's drivers.

Recovery Drive (ALWAYS make one):  One might not realize this is important.  One might even make excuses about recovery partitions, etc.  But if you've had a hard drive die on you, or if you load lots of different OSes, you will realize that making a recovery USB drive is a necessity.  

This USB drive is per system.  Another important nuance.  The Windows ecosystem still has many systems not sending their drivers to Microsoft.  It is a sad state considering where technology is, but I won't rant beyond that statement.  I hope.

Well, that didn't last long.  It is hard to understand why there are tons of recovery options in Windows 10's settings app, but not the option to create a recovery USB.  Most of the searches I've made are looking for "Create a recovery drive" in the Start Menu and follow the instructions.  That is exactly what Microsoft says too.  :-(  Anyways, DO IT RIGHT NOW!